This month is less about product making and more about making room. My studio is really full after a productive 2018/19 season and I need to clean out a bit so I can hit the sewing machine with a fury come September when my kids’ return to school! Just in case you haven’t been following along, I am having a month long trunk sale where I am marking down everything I have currently in stock in my studio. Not quite an “everything must go” sale, but I definitely am hoping I will free up some cupboard space! I also have an itch to try several new things with my business in the coming year, and I feel like having less of my old stock will give me some kind of permission to move in a new direction. I’ll tell you more about those plans after I’ve had a chance to fully coalesce them. But, for now, SALE, SALE, SALE!
Week one started with taking a lot of pictures of my kid and baby quilts with corresponding pillows or diaper bins. I don’t usually sell things in a set, kit, or bundle, so having the chance to see that a lot of what I make does actually work together made me more confident that yes, I do actually have a cohesive style to my work. Not a necessity, but good to know as an artist. I definitely want people to associate me with a consistent product not only in quality, but also style. A few of my pieces were made with similar fabrics, making the coordinating process really easy. A few others I had to be slightly more creative with, but overall I think I manged to find good bundles of items that work well together and don’t seem forced.
Not only did I make what I think are pretty nice quilt and accessory bundles, but I was also able to make some bundles of smaller items for the babes. Double gauze and minky backed bibs make some lovely sets for new mothers at upcoming baby showers, and this month you’ll have three to choose from. I also made a combination out of the last few Baby Bunny Teething Buddies I have in stock and some patchwork minky loveys for another cute, inexpensive gift bundles.
I was going to remove all of the bundles before staring the week two sales, but honestly, putting them up was a lot of work! My husband suggested just letting them ride for the rest of the month and seeing if people enjoy seeing new things each week with the option to purchase everything at the end of the month, so I’m going to try that now. The nice thing about being a solo-entrepreneur is I can do whatever I want (ha!) and change my mind. Hopefully the customer will enjoy longer time to decide and benefit and I will enjoy having my work last longer and maybe, maybe make more profits from the sale.
For week two of the sale I am listing all of my pillows and reducing the price of all of my minky blankets and loveys. Now you could buy the bundle for a discount, or a singular blanket at a price reduction. Two ways to save makes it twice as awesome in my book!
Pillows are a fun and relaxing make, usually with pretty gratifying results. I really enjoy making pillows, but they take up a TON of storage space! I would love to sell at least some of my current stock of pillows! Pillows make a great entry into handmade because they are soft, cuddly and easy to add into your home decor. Hopefully several will become great gifts for the holidays!
I hope you enjoyed the recap of the first two weeks of my August Trunk Sale! Hopefully you are able to pick up a few things you are interested in for your own home or for gifting while taking advantage of these great deals!
Go below to shop the full August Trunk Sale Collection!
Weeks three and four will be here shortly! xoxo, Janice
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